Baby Steps
by Scotia Daniel
Summary: April felt her vision began to go. No...this wasn't how it was supposed to be. She's only eighteen years old, she's too young to die. All the faces that she had come to know and love filled her vision and she wanted to scream at them, telling them everything she had taken for granted: 'I love you,' 'you mean so much to me,' 'I'm sorry...' - Request/Inspired by geminidragon76
1. Crimson

April's ears were filled with high pitched, painful screams that were honestly more like shrieks. She wanted to tell the person screaming to shut up, but realized that the horrid sound was coming from her.

The red head's eyes shot open, her vision suddenly sharp. She could see every detail of everything around her. The graffiti on the brick walls, the streak of green and black on the skyscraper above, all the blood surrounding her...

Wait, blood? April tried to sit up but couldn't. She had managed to stop screaming but her head became dizzy and she tasted bile and blood in the back of her throat.

April set her head back down against the cement. Is this how it felt to die? She tried to recall what had happened, but the last memory that filled her mind was a Foot Clan member round house kicking her off of the edge of a building.

And there she was: at the bottom of said building, not being able to feel her legs. Wait...what? April tried wiggling her toes but couldn't. All she could feel was intense pain as it shot up and down her body and intensified in her legs.

In the distance, she could hear her name being called. By who? April closed her eyes and took a shaky breath. Would it be her last? The idea of dying didn't scare her, but she knew she wasn't ready to. Not yet. She had to make sure the boys were okay, make sure the Foot didn't hurt them...she had to tell her dad she loved him one last time...

"April!" Donnie's voice seemed like it was another world away. The purple masked mutant's face filled her mind and she felt her body choke up. It was weird her body was making her picture him on her death bed over anyone else.

She supposed it was for the best. There was so much she hadn't said to him yet that she wished she could have. Stuff she wished they had done together and regretted the times she was harsher than she should have been when April had just been in a bad mood or missed her father or school.

"April!" The voice was louder this time. April frowned and realized she really was hearing Donatello's voice. She opened her eyes to discover her body had been picked up in his strong arms and he held onto her so tightly it was painful, but she didn't have the strength or heart to tell him to let go.

The red head felt her heart break. Her best friend looked so...sad. Distraught. April lifted her hand to his cheek and saw the sticky red substance on her skin for the first time. The blood was dark and it made April want to throw up.

She stroked his cheek, leaving a crimson smear behind before her arm gave out and dropped to her side, limp. April gave a shuddering breath and wanted to say his name so badly, but the sound wouldn't come despite the words threatening to spill over the tip of her tongue.

April felt her vision began to go. No...this wasn't how it was supposed to be. She's only eighteen years old, she's too young to die. All the faces that she had come to know and love filled her vision and she wanted to scream at them, telling them everything she had taken for granted: 'I love you,' 'you mean so much to me,' 'I'm sorry...'

But as she began to drift off into a sea of darkness, her body going numb with what April could only assume was death, she could feel one word manage to bubble past the pain and numbness to burst the surface of reality before she fell into complete darkness: "Donnie..."


	2. The Paths of Fate

Beep.

What was that sound?

Beep.

Voices...muffled whispers.

Beep.

April cracked open her eyes, white flooding her vision. She immediately shut her eyes, a migraine pulsing in her head. If that was what people considered to be heaven, then she'd like a rain check.

Beep.

"The surgeries went well. She's sleeping now."

Beep.

April frowned. She didn't recognize the voice. It was a female, somewhere in her forties, maybe, if April had to guess. The more she began to wake up, the more she realized she wasn't in any afterlife at all, but rather, a hospital.

She moved her arm and felt the IV in her tug at the skin. The pain was gone, but the drugs she knew she must be on kept the horrific feelings away. April tried to wiggle her toes with no luck. The fact scared her, but she willed herself to stay calm.

"She'll be lucky to walk right again..."

April froze. She could feel the eyes of whoever was talking suddenly go on her and she fell limp, pretending to sleep, her ears on high alert. She could feel her heart thump loudly in her chest and she was thankful the doctor, or whoever it was, couldn't hear it.

"If she follows her physical therapy regularly, she'll be able to walk. But with a limp. The surgeon doubts she'll ever be able to run again. She's lucky she was taken in when she did, otherwise she would be confined to a wheel chair right about now for the rest of her life. Still could if she doesn't follow orders. But we'll have to wait and see, I guess...yeah, I'll be sure to do that. Anything else she might need?...noted. I'll see you tomorrow, goodbye."

April heard the 'clink' as a phone took its place back in its receiver. She didn't dare open her eyes until she heard the door shut and opened her eyes to find that the woman had turned the lights off.

The red head stared up at the ceiling, eyes wide. Wheelchair...she could be stuck in a wheelchair...She wanted to tear off her sheets and stare at her legs but knew she didn't have the strength nor did she really want to know. She had a good idea of how bad of condition her legs where in.

It felt like minutes, but it must have been hours. The sun had set in a heart beat and the moon sat in the sun's place. A 'click' came from the window and she could feel a cool breeze tickle her skin.

She blinked. One moment she was alone, the next, four dark figures stood over her, their green skin and colourful masks faintly seen thanks to the moonlight that found its way into the room from the window.

April stared up at them, not really looking, but more like seeing through them. They were there, but at the same time, they weren't. Her eyes found the red-brown eyes of her best friend in the darkness and, from the look on his face and the sadness in his eyes, he knew. They all knew.

April blinked at him, not really sure if she was silently asking him anything or not. Maybe it was the look on her face, perhaps it was written in her body language, but Donatello bit his lip and gently tucked her hair behind her hair so gently it brought tears to April's eyes.

"It's not your fault, April. You saved Mikey. If you hadn't...he would probably be dead. You're his angel, April. You fought so well and...We're so sorry, April. We are so...so, sorry..."

But she didn't hear him. She remembered the night, now. It all came flooding back to her and it made her heart ache. Mikey had let his guard down, she knocked him out of the way and managed the hit the Foot's weapon away only for the ninja to round house kick her off of the building where the fall felt like it stretched for centuries.

April knew she didn't regret it. She would rather be legless than Mikey-less. Her eyes found his in the darkness and his bight blue eyes were red from crying. She wanted to tell him it was okay, it wasn't his fault, but she couldn't. It was too much for her.

The red head looked from Mikey to Leo to Raph and back to Donnie, her eyes traveling to each unique set of eyes that she could find in the unforgiving darkness of the hospital room. Should she be crying?

April didn't know what to do. She knew she could cry. Wasn't that a given for anyone in this situation? But even though the tears were there, none flowed out of her eyes. She knew she should say something. Anything. They all stared at her with anticipation of something she couldn't give just yet. Instead of crying or saying the right words, April turned onto her side, pulled the blanket over her head and closed her eyes.


	3. Alone

The water began to boil over, pouring over the lid of the pot and dripped down its sides so slowly, fizzling and bubbling as it went. April stared at the water with a frown, reached over with much struggle and turned down the heat of the stove.

When she did, April leaned back in her wheelchair and sighed. It was only a week into being strapped to that thing and already it was a week too long. The red head glanced down at her legs which were now in protective braces and bandaged up.

April wiggled her toes and smiled when she could lightly feel them beneath the bandages. Not quite normal, but it was a start. She would start her physical therapy soon, and she couldn't wait to get it over with and walk again. The idea of having a limp made her frown again and remembered how the doctor told her she'd probably not be able to run or jump or...or...

"Are you listening?"

"What?"

April turned her head and realized she had completely tuned out a chattering Casey Jones a few minutes prior. The young man sat on her counter and crossed his arms with a 'what gives?' look.

"Maybe I should come back later..." He hopped off the counter and grabbed his coat from a chair. April sighed and rolled after him, her arms already weak from having to use so much of her upper body strength to get around.

"Casey...I'm sorry. I have a lot on my mind, okay? It's only been a week and-"

"So?" He turned and April barely stopped the wheel chair in time from rolling into him. She looked up at him from her seat, hating how much smaller she was now that she was forced to sit down.

"So?" April felt herself whisper. "Casey, if you haven't realized, I'm in a wheelchair, and-"

"I know, when are you gonna be on your feet again?"

"I don't know, Casey. I told you that already."

"Bummer," he mumbled and took out a cigarette, placing it in his mouth. April felt her temper rise. If she could, she would have swatted the cancer stick out of his mouth.

"Bummer? Casey, I told you I could be stuck like this forever and 'bummer' is all you have to say? And please don't smoke in my apartment, Casey. You know how I feel about that."

He rolled his eyes and continued to light the stick anyways and slipped the metal lighter back in his pocket. "Look, call me up when you're on your legs again. Then we can go out and do all kinds of fun."

Casey winked at her and April bit back tears. The second hand smoke wasn't helping, either. She watched as he began to head for the front door. April rolled forward but stopped a few feet when she realized she was too exhausted to move.

"Casey...that's not fair. You're not going to help me?"

"No offense, babe, but I'm not exactly a helping guy. My job is to mark my territory around town, beat up anyone who tries to tell me otherwise, party a little and tell the authorities who's really in charge around here. And as much as I think you're fun as hell, wheelchairs just slow me down. Sorry, doll. Call me when we can have fun again."

He opened the door, winked at her and slid out, the door clicking shut. April stared at it in shock. What did she expect? This was Casey. Casey who graffitis the city with his name. Casey who found entertainment in beating up gangs and scaring children. Casey who was held back many times in school and didn't know what a noun was when he met her.

"Casey?" Her voice cracked, not really believing her own ears that the sound came from her.

"Casey?" She asked again, knowing he couldn't hear her. He was probably out of the building already, down the street on that bike of his. Was he thinking about her? Probably not. He was probably already thinking about what Purple Dragon member he could scare shitless that night.

"Casey?" He was gone. And April knew she probably wouldn't see him again for a very long time. She gazed down at her legs, the tears finally pouring over her eyes and down her cheeks. He wouldn't have ditched her if she hadn't shattered her legs. If she hadn't been so reckless...she'd still be walking. Not worrying about whether or not she'd be jumping and running and walking again. She'd be out and about, smiling and laughing and not feeling exhausted from how much work it was to live life in a chair.

April clenched her fists, silently letting the tears fall. What did it matter anymore? As long as her legs were like that, things would never go back to being normal again. She wouldn't be able to join the guys on patrol, wouldn't be able to join Casey around town, wouldn't be able to get to the sewers on her own...

The apartment was filled with silent sobs as April tried to get a hold on herself with no luck. She knew she should go back into the kitchen to finish the pasta she was making, but her mouth was dry and her stomach didn't feel up to eating anything. She wasn't hungry.

April didn't know how much time had passed, but the apartment began to become dark and soon the apartment was bathed in shadows from April not having any lights on. She knew her food was wasted and the water probably evaporated by then from leaving the stove on.

She stared at the door bathed in darkness and realized she was alone. Alone to take care of herself, alone to writhe in pain, alone to look into an unclear future. April knew she wasn't completely alone, she had the boys, but even then she knew they'd leave her, just like Casey did.

April stared in shock at the thought. She imagined all of her friends gone, not being blessed to have them walk in with pizza and Mikey's bad jokes, be mothered by Leo or have Donatello's concern. The thought of it made something inside of April jolt. Biting her lip, April bent over, buried her face in her hands, and cried her hardest for the first time since her mother died.


	4. Of Pride and Pain

April tried to focus on the slow moving circles she worked her ankles in. The movement itself hurt, but she tried to tune the pain out by concentrating on the scent of the pizza box on the coffee table and the chatter of her friends.

Mikey sat by her side and chatted away. April nodded now and then but honestly wasn't listening, her mind focused on the chipped teeth man that she hadn't heard from in weeks.

The boys had come over like always with pizza and chatted of what she had missed out in the sewers. April tried to remember the last time she had gone but couldn't. The thought greatly upset her and she quickened the movement in her ankle.

April glanced at Mikey, who had a grin on his face and was talking about some new pizza combo he had invented and cracked the same joke he had only moments before.

April went back to trying to focus on her ankles, sweat beading on her forehead. She quickened her pace, knowing she shouldn't. The doctor said slow and easy, her nerves weren't fully functioning just yet. But April couldn't help it. Everything was just too...much.

She missed going to the lair. She missed being able to go in public without getting pitiful looks. She missed living life outside of a chair. She missed being able to have the freedom to get up and do what she wanted without having the carry herself there with her arms.

But most importantly, she missed walking. April missed the sensation of the ground against her feet. She missed being able to stretch her legs in the morning and wiggle her toes whenever she wanted to. It was silly, but it was the truth. She missed...

April had completely blanked out and twisted her ankle so harshly pain shot through her leg. She wanted to cry out in pain but didn't want the attention. She turned her focus to Mikey beside her who was still happily chatting away, unaware that she wasn't listening.

"Mikey, shut up! Tell me your stupid jokes later, okay? I'm trying to concentrate here."

The smile on Michelangelo's face dropped and his eyes grew wide. The happy chatter of her friends stopped and April felt herself go into shock. She hadn't meant to take it out on Mikey, it just...happened.

"Mikey, I'm-"

"That was really uncalled for, April."

"Yeah, April. What gives? Only I can tell Mikey that kind of stuff." Raphael frowned. April's eyes caught the disapproval in Leonardo's eyes and her regret was replaced with the pent up frustration she had.

"I was trying to say I was sorry, but if you're going to be a jerk about it then I won't." She crossed her arms.

Raphael looked at her in shock. Everything that came pouring out of her she didn't mean. She wanted to break down and apologize, but she couldn't. She had been holding in so much anger and frustration, it was flowing out of her and she couldn't stop it. It was like a broken damn that couldn't be fixed until it was too late.

Mikey got up and left down the hall. April could hear the front door open and shut. She and the others stared at the hall, frozen with shock. Soon, Raphael was the first to snap out of the spell Mikey had put them in and ran down the hall after him. The front door opened and slammed shut.

Leonardo snapped his head in her direction and gave April a disapproving look. "What's with you, April? I get a lot is going on with you, but snapping at Mikey like that was really uncalled for."

"I-"

"Every time we come over, you ALWAYS snap at us. Especially when we just want to help. April, I get you're stressed and tired and sick of this, but we're here for you. We already feel bad enough that this is our fault in a way that you're like this, but we're trying to make it up to you. We're trying to-"

"I don't want your pity!" April felt herself tremble, tears building up in her eyes. "I don't want your help! I just want to be normal again! I don't want to be treated like I'm some baby that can't take care of herself. I can."

After the words came tumbling out, she regretted them. She regretted the word choice, but most importantly, she regretted how...mean she sounded. When did she become so bitter?

Donnie and Leo stared at her in shock. Donnie reached his hand out to her, the same caring look he had planted on his face whenever she did something that made him worry.

"April, it's okay. I think you're tired. Here, I'll get an ice pack for your ankle and you can go to bed so that-"

"No. Just forget it, Donnie. I'll be fine. I can get it on my own..."

Every word she said made her flinch. She could see the pain in Donnie's eyes and she wished she could stand up and jump into his arms and beg him to forgive her. But she become more aware of her chair and her infamous stubborn nature kicked in and she swallowed her apologies, her heart sinking in her chest.

Leo gave her an angry look, grabbed Donnie by the arm and yanked him in the direction of the front door. "Come on, Donnie. April needs some time to think. She obviously can do things on her own, if she needs us, she'll shoot us a message."

Donnie fumbled but followed. Leonardo continued to walk steadily towards the front door, but Donnie peered over at her with wide eyes, torn about whether he should stay or go.

"If you need us, just call me. Okay, April?"

April lowered her eyes. The door clicked open and slammed shut. She was alone again. After a few minutes past, she picked up the nearest object to her on the coffee table and threw it against the wall.

The bottle of root beer shattered and the brown liquid stained the wall. April breathed heavily, the tears already pouring down her cheeks. What was wrong with her?

April remembered Leo's words and sobbed. He was right. She hadn't realized it, but she had slowly pushed them all away. For what, pride? So what if she couldn't do jack shit on her own? Her friends always came to give her company and be there for her. It wasn't fair to them at all.

Donnie's worried face filled her mind's inner eye and she sobbed harder. Donatello...out of all of them, he was the one always wanting to help. Fetch her pillows, ice for her legs, anything to make her comfortable. He even offered to push her chair, which she declined.

She had treated them all so horribly. With Casey, he wasn't even there. He left on his own. But the boys left because of her. And deep down, April knew they wouldn't be coming back until she messaged them first.

April suddenly felt tired and weak. She rolled herself with shaky arms out of the living room and into her bedroom. The bed had been made for the first time in a while thanks to Donatello. Even clothes that were once on the floor had been put away that she herself couldn't hang properly on her own.

The red head wheeled herself to her bed sighed and shakily pulled her shirt off and leaned towards her bed. Something caught her eye and she realized there was a piece of paper on her pillow.

April gently picked it up and felt her blood drain from her face. It was a home made 'get well' card with a crude drawing of April standing up with band aids on her legs and she surrounded by happy looking turtles.

Each of the drawn turtles were depicted in their respected colours and each turtle had signed their picture with personalized messages that wished her the fastest healing process and that they would always be there for her.

April snapped her head to look at her T-phone on the nightstand and stared the object down. She picked it up and eyed the screen. Her cheeks were soaked and eyes were swollen from how hard she was then crying.

She knew she had to apologize. She knew she had to make things better, but her fingers wouldn't let her. 'You did this, you deserve to be ignored,' a voice in her head sneered. 'You deserve to be alone. You dug yourself into this whole, you might as well enjoy the burial.'

April slowly set the phone down and crawled onto her bed, the get well card falling to the ground. She didn't bother pulling the sheets around her or anything to cover her cool form. Her whole body felt so weak, like she hadn't slept or eaten or done anything in so long. She was a prisoner in her own body and a stranger in her own home.

April eyed the T-phone one last time, the scene from that night with the boys playing through her mind and ending on the beautiful get well card they had made her. She choked on a sob, turned her back on the T-phone and where the card had fallen, closed her eyes and willed herself to fall into a sleep where she never had to wake up again and face the pain she had caused herself.


	5. A Start

The sun began to set through the window and over the city, washing April's room in oranges and purples. The glow of the sun reflected in her eye, but she didn't dare blink. Her eyes felt numb and dry, even the sun wouldn't get them to blink.

The sun probably took a good few hours to fully set, but to April, it ended in a blink of an eye. Just like the others she numbly watched for...how many days now? Night approached. Just another night where she was useless and alone.

The buzz of her T-phone went off and April closed her eyes, ignoring the sound. She didn't have to look to know it was from Donatello. He had sent her others over the past few days while she kept herself trapped in her bed, unwilling to move. She had hardly eaten and only really got up only to use the bathroom.

Her stomach had stopped rumbling and the need to eat felt foreign. Her own home phone had gone off quite a bit, but she never listened to the messages. April didn't care who called or what it was about, at that point, nothing mattered.

Somewhere between her thoughts and inner turmoil, the sky had gone pitch black and the room was bathed in darkness. April blinked until she could faintly see everything but still didn't budge.

From deep in the apartment, she could hear the front door click and slowly open before it shut so lightly, anyone who didn't have ninja training probably wouldn't have had heard it.

"April?"

April closed her eyes. After a few minutes, she could sense someone had entered her room. She heard a gasp and she opened her eyes to find the worried face of Donatello. Why was he there?

"April?"

She closed her eyes again, willing him to go away. April knew she couldn't form the words and any kind of movement would just make her want to cry. Donnie's hand was placed on her forehead. It felt nice and warm against her cool forehead and, if she didn't have any pride, would have sighed from the feeling.

"Oh, April..." he whispered and it made her flinch. Why was he here? After what she had said and done? For someone so intelligent, he was so stupid. His brothers had the right idea to bail.

She felt her body be lifted and placed in her wheelchair. April immediately wanted to go back to her bed where she didn't have to be reminded that she was broken, didn't have to live life in that stupid chair...

Donnie pushed her through the bedroom and into the kitchen. He set her up at the table and listened as he opened the fridge and cabinets, fishing around for something.

A minute later, she could hear the sound of a can being opened, liquid be poured and the microwave going. What was he doing? April stared at the table, hardly blinking. The sound of the microwave going off reminded her of what was going on and soon a bowl of what looked like cream of chicken soup sat in front of her with a spoon.

Donatello sat beside her and April felt him staring. She blankly watched the bowl in front of her, not really looking at it. The smell of the food that had once made her mouth water left her tongue dry and she wanted to push it away.

April heard the mutant sigh and he took the soup. Was he accepting defeat? A spoon was lifted to her mouth but she kept it shut. Donnie pressed the spoon to her lips but she still refused.

"April...please. You need to eat..." he tried again. Same results. He sighed, exasperated. She could imagine the look on his face right then but couldn't bring herself to look. She stared down at the ground, her eyes locked to nothing in particular.

"April...I'm begging you to eat. You need to. I know things are rough but not eating and sitting around moping won't get you anywhere," he tried to firmly reason. April sunk back in her chair a little but still didn't budge.

She listened as Donatello sighed again and sensed hesitation in the air. Why couldn't he understand she just wanted to be alone? She wasn't hungry and probably wouldn't be hungry again. Her bed will be her tomb. She was never going to walk again, and with how she treated everyone this is what she deserved.

"I'm SO sorry, April..." His voice sounded really strained and filled with pain.

She tried lifting her head to give him a questing look when Donnie grabbed her face and forced the spoon into her mouth. The metal grazed her teeth and made her shudder.

The now lukewarm soup filled her mouth and April wanted to spit it out. Donatello held her jaw shut and she struggled against his grip with no luck. In time, she had to swallow. But when she did, Donnie would be there to shove the spoon back into her mouth and force her to swallow the soup over and over again.

Soon, the bowl was empty and April slumped in her chair, shaking. Did he just do that? She could still taste the chicken in her mouth and wanted to spit it out. The sudden food that hit her empty stomach made her want to throw up but her gag reflex wouldn't kick in.

Donatello took the bowl and spoon, his hands shaking and began to walk towards the sink. He fumbled and the bowl went tumbling to the ground where it shattered.

April watched as he fell to his knees and shakily picked up the pieces, placing the ceramic in his large palms. He tossed the pieces into the trash can hidden behind a cabinet door.

The red head eyed the new scratches on his skin from the pottery and the shock from before was erased with guilt. Donnie's hands continued to shake and he wiped at his head as though brushing sweat away, took out his T-phone and dialed a number.

Donnie stood up, eyed her and left the room. April closed her eyes and strained to hear the scientist's soft voice in the other room.

"Hey...yeah, I'm at April's...no, I won't be coming home. I'm staying with April, Leo...Leo, she _needs_ me. I don't care, she hadn't eaten in days when I got here. I don't even think she's stepped out of the bed until now...no. I don't care if you're the leader, April needs me and if you can't accept that, then you seriously need to change your priorities."

April heard him hang up and felt her body go cold. He sounded...broken. Was he really planning on staying with her? Why? He walked back into the room and she saw in time him wipe away what looked like tears from his eyes, but they were gone by the time he was fully back in the room.

Donnie gave her a smile that she didn't return. He pulled her chair from the table and pushed her to the living room that was connected to the kitchen. He sat her in front of the TV and turned it on, flipping through the channels until he lit up and settled on a show that he and April often watched just the two of them over the past few years.

"Here," he said, placing the remote in her lap. "I know it's not a lot, but it's something you can watch while I make this place more lively. I'll be staying until you get better. I hope you can forgive me for all of this one day, April..."

He stood there as though expecting an answer from her, but April remained quiet and stared at the TV. Familiar faces filled her vision that ended up looking more foreign than friendly to her. It was like she was glancing at something from another life.

Donatello sighed and left. Through the night, as she stared blankly at the TV, she could hear him cleaning up the apartment. Opening up blinds, turning on lights...stuff she hadn't bothered to do in days.

In no time, the apartment looked like someone lived there again. April blinked, flinching at the bright light, wishing it'd be dark again. The sun was one thing, but now the lights were waking her up from the stupor she didn't want to come out of.

Donatello came back, a grin on his face. April dared to look around and was shocked to find it so...different. Everything was more lively and he had even cleaned up the mess on the coffee table his brothers had left when they abandoned ship days before.

April knew now that the only thing out of place in the apartment was herself. She didn't have to look in a mirror to know how disheveled she probably looked. Her tank top was wrinkled and she still wore the same shorts she had been wearing for a while now with how banged up her legs were.

Donnie looked her over with a frown, left the room and came back with a brush. April turned her head back to the TV to ignore him. She felt the brush glide through her hair and winced when he tugged at knots that had formed.

She could tell he was disappointed by the lack of protest of any kind by her, but she knew he was thankful she didn't put up a fight. April closed her eyes and soon the pain that tugged at her scalp was replaced with a tickling sensation that made her want to sigh with how good it felt.

Donnie took her now groomed hair and pulled it back into her signature ponytail. The mutant stepped in front of her and smiled, flashing her his infamous gapped grin that made her heart lightly flutter.

"Much better. Now THERE'S the April O'Neil I know."

April felt her lips slightly twitch but the smile was gone before it could really begin. Donnie continued to smile, but disappointment flashed in those red-brown orbs of his.

The young man stood erect and glanced outside where the sky began to brighten. The dark blue was replaced with the breath of purples, pinks, and golds as the sun began to crawl out of its slumber from behind the horizon.

"We should get you to bed and get some sleep...we'll get you more food, a change of clothes and start working on your physical therapy tomorrow..."

Donatello turned the TV off and rolled her back into her bedroom. He scooped her up into his arms and gently laid her on her bed, tucking the sheets around her. He walked over to the window and shut the blinds, leaving the room in complete darkness for the first time in a while.

April watched the mutant as he headed for the door and stopped when he was in the frame. He turned to look at her, a smile on his face, a mix of emotions fighting behind his eyes like a hurricane.

"Just call me if you need me, okay?" He waited as though he was hoping to get an answer from her, but April closed her eyes in response. She could hear him sigh. "Sweet dreams, April..."

The door gently shut with a 'click.' April opened her eyes, letting them adjust to the darkness. Behind the shutters, the sun peeked through, and in the darkness, somewhere in the depths of her apartment, she could hear the faint crying that could only be from Donatello.

April flinched, tears building up in her own eyes. She never imagined any of her friends crying. They were rough ninjas who fought off an advanced clan of ninjas and alien race and came home often with wounds that any normal person would cry over. But they never did. But April forgot that, to Donnie, she was an acceptation.

And now...now as she could softly hear the unmistaken sounds of crying, April turned her back to the door and willed the sound to go away, squeezing her eyes shut, but the sound was still there. And as long as she acted that way, it will always be there, reminding her of the pain she brought.


End file.
